The Decision
by Queen's Bishop
Summary: Sometimes, it's hard to know what to do.


_No infringement on the rights of the owners of "Combat!" is intended. This story is for the enjoyment of "Combat!" fans only, not for any monetary profit by the author._

_Thanks to JML for proofreading and to Susan Rodriguez for beta reading._

**The Decision**

**by: Queen's Bishop**

** Indicates German is being spoken.**

Kirby sighed. "Well…"

"I'm…think…ing," Billy slowly replied, emphasizing each syllable as he stared intently at his cards. He pulled out two and studied them before returning them to his hand. He selected another combination, this time of three cards.

The two men from Second Squad who were sitting in on the poker game rolled their eyes.

"C'mon, Nelson, we ain't got all day," one said impatiently.

"Just give me a minute," Billy replied as he again rearranged his cards.

"Billy, ya think long, ya think wrong," Kirby said with some irritation.

"Okay, okay…three," he said as he tossed the discards toward Kirby.

The BAR man dealt him three new cards. Billy eagerly snatched them up, and then looked dejected.

"Shoot! I knew I got rid of the wrong ones," he said.

Kirby again imparted his words of wisdom. "See, ya think long, ya think wrong."

At the end of the hand, the cards were passed to the next dealer who shuffled. He had just placed the deck on the table for the player to his left to cut when the door opened, letting in the sound of the pounding rain. All the men turned to see who had entered the billet. Since it was the First Squad sergeant, they continued to stare, waiting to hear what their next mission would be.

The NCO shook himself, creating a small puddle of water around his feet.

Littlejohn broke the silence. "What's up, Sarge?"

Saunders scanned the room. "Morasski an' Arnold, get back to your own squad. The rest of you, check your ammo. Make sure you've got a double basic load. We're goin' for a little walk."

"In the rain?" Phinney, the newest addition to the squad, asked.

"Nah. The Sarge would never make us go out in the rain," Kirby responded with a laugh. "Would ya, Sarge!"

Saunders didn't reply. He waited until Morasski and Arnold had closed the door behind them before saying, "Alright, listen up. S-2 still wants a prisoner from the 6th Panzer Regiment."

The announcement was met with stunned silence. The squad, the rest of the platoon and probably the rest of the company had been looking for the elusive 6th Panzer Regiment for most of the past week.

"Maybe they ain't around here anymore," the BAR man offered.

"Or, maybe they never were," Littlejohn said.

"Yeah, like a ghost regiment," Billy added.

"Hmmm," Saunders said as he cupped his hand around his chin. "Maybe you're right…Tell you what. Why don't you three go present your ideas to the lieutenant. I'm sure he'll want you to speak with Cpt. Jampel an' S-2…An' while you're out, pick up a radio an' rations for two days."

Kirby snorted. "Sometimes, Sarge, you ain't got no imagination."

"Well, I guess that means we'll be walkin' in the rain," Phinney said.

Billy sighed. "You got that right," he said as he stood after buckling the uppers on his boots.

As if the prayers of the men had been answered, the rain stopped shortly after they left the village. The sun made an appearance and that alone should have lifted everyone's spirits. But, their daunting mission seemed to dampen any enthusiasm the change in weather might have sparked.

When they stopped for a break, the sergeant and the scout sat off to the side, hunched over the map. S-2 thought that searching Jig and Love sectors were the best bets for finding the elusive Kraut unit. Based on what, Saunders had asked Hanley. Gut feelings and guesses, as best the sergeant had been able to figure out from the response he had gotten. It was a long way to travel based on the vague suspicions of men who had never ventured more than one hundred yards beyond the sentry posts.

Panzers needed space to maneuver. They might hide in wooded areas, but never too far from the open fields. Both Saunders and Caje were in agreement on that point. If the Panzer regiment was still in the area, based on their previous reconnaissance patrols, George sector seemed a much more likely location. Hanley hadn't specified where to look. He had just told the NCO to, "GET A PRISONER!" So, when the short break was over, the scout set off in a new direction.

Caje raised his hand and the other squad members immediately sought cover. Saunders crouched and moved forward to join him. The scout pointed and the sergeant aimed his binoculars toward the target the Cajun had indicated.

"I'll be damned," Saunders said under his breath as he took in the scene.

A German staff car was stopped by the side of the road with a flat tire. Two soldiers had taken off their tunics and were hard at work getting the tire changed. A third man, an officer the sergeant assumed from the peaked cap he was wearing, paced anxiously in the near-by shade.

Saunders scanned the road. There was nothing coming in either direction. He told the scout to begin closing in on the road in front of the Krauts while he returned to the squad and gave his men their orders.

"Caje will cover the road leading up to staff car. Kirby, cover behind it. Littlejohn and Phinney, you come in on their blind side. Nelson, you're on me. We'll come in from the left. Give us time to get into position. Don't fire unless you have to. I want that officer alive. Any questions?"

With no questions, the squad split up. Littlejohn and Phinney followed after the scout and veered off when the staff car was in sight. Doc stayed with them until they started to move up on the target, then he hung back and waited. The other three men slipped across the road and began their approach.

Bagging a prisoner, and an officer to boot, so easily was more than any of them had hoped for. But, unfortunately, their celebratory thoughts were premature. For no reason, the officer suddenly stopped pacing up and down on the road and began walking back and forth. As Phinney and Littlejohn moved in closer, he spotted them.

Saunders and Billy weren't yet close enough for the sergeant to yell, "HÄNDE HOCH!" when the officer shouted, AMERICANS, and dove for cover in the ditch at the side of the road. He drew his Lugar and began firing.

One of the Krauts immediately dropped the wrench he was using to attach the flat tire to the back of the staff car and dove head first into the back seat. When he reappeared, with rifle in hand, he began shooting. The other Kraut wasn't so lucky. He stood and when he reached for his rifle, he was hit by a short burst from the sergeant's Thompson.

As Kirby and the soldier in the back seat exchanged rounds, the officer in the ditch began to make his way behind Littlejohn and Phinney. When he pointed his Lugar at the unsuspecting soldiers, Caje shot him.

Saunders hollered, "HÄNDE HOCH!" trying to get the final man to surrender. But instead, the German popped up once more from the back seat. Kirby was caught reloading the BAR and would have been a sitting duck except both Littlejohn and Billy fired.

Their hopes of easily capturing a prisoner were dashed until Doc called out that the officer was still alive.

Saunders and Nelson checked on the other two Krauts; both were dead. So, Billy headed over to join the rest of the squad. They were already gathered around the officer who was seated, leaning against a tree trunk, and Doc, who was kneeling beside him, tying off a bandage on a shoulder wound.

The NCO picked up one of the tunics. "Shit," he quietly said as he ripped an epaulette off and stuffed it into the breast pocket of his shirt. These soldiers hadn't been from any of the units Hanley had told him were part of the 6th Panzer Regiment. Saunders walked slowly along the ditch where the officer had first taken cover, trying to decide what to do with him, weighing the options.

Taking the wounded Kraut along as they tried to complete the original mission was only going to slow them down. But, if he sent him back, he would lose not only Doc, but also a man to guard the prisoner, a man he might need later if they ran into trouble. However, even though the Kraut wasn't from the right unit, an officer was still a valuable prisoner. He kicked at a small stone. Then he took a knee, still thinking. He picked up a twig and began fiddling with it. Finally, having made up his mind, he picked up another small stone and tossed it away as he stood and headed back to his men.

Kirby was grinning. "He's a little damaged, Sarge, but not too bad."

"Yeah, Sarge, we got S-2 not just any prisoner, but an officer," Littlejohn said with a measure of pride in their accomplishment.

Saunders hated to give them the bad news, but figured he might as well get it over with. He pulled out the epaulette and, showing it to his men, said, "He's not from the 6th Panzer Regiment." He could almost hear the sound of six bubbles bursting.

Looking up from his seated position and smiling, the Kraut officer said, "Yes, I am sorry to disappoint you. Perhaps you should have asked first before you needlessly killed my men."

Kirby gave his foot a little kick. "Perhaps ya shoulda surrendered insteada tryin' to shoot it out with a superior force, Kraut."

"Knock it off, Kirby." Saunders said. He turned to the German. "Where'd you learn to speak English?"

"At the Gymnasium…high school. Don't you speak German, Sergeant?" he asked with an air of superiority.

"I'll ask the questions," the NCO snarled.

"As you wish, Sergeant."

"What's your name?"

The officer struggled to stand so Doc helped him up. "I am Rolf Müeller, CAPTAIN Rolf Müeller, at your service. And you are?"

Saunders glared at him.

"Very well, Sergeant. Since I am not your intended target, what do you propose doing with me? I remind you that under the terms of the Geneva Convention…"

Caje stepped in front of the officer. "You Krauts always bring up de Geneva Convention when it suits your purpose…"

"Alright, Caje," Saunders said. "Go keep an eye on the road. You, too, Kirby." With looks of distain at the officer, the two soldiers did as ordered. The NCO turned to the medic. "Can he walk, Doc?"

"Yeah, Sarge, he hasn't lost too much blood. Ah'll have to keep an eye on him, but he should be able to make it back without any problems."

"Nelson, you go with Doc an' the captain."

"ME?" Billy asked. "You want ME to take him back?"

Müeller smiled at the private.

Saunders made sure he had the captain's full attention before saying, "Yeah, an', Nelson, if he gives you any trouble, shoot him."

Billy gulped before replying, "Okay, Sarge." He noticed the officer was no longer smiling at him, but instead seemed to be trying to determine if he would, if he could, carry out that order. Billy lowered his voice to try to sound older and more serious when he said, "Any time you're ready, Doc."

As the three men set out, Saunders signaled Kirby. Together with Littlejohn and Phinney, they rejoined Caje and resumed moving in their original direction. Suddenly, the sergeant stopped.

"Hold up a minute," he said. Then he turned and started trotting back in the direction the trio had just headed. "DOC!" he yelled. The three stopped and turned around. He again yelled, "DOC," and waved his arm to call the medic back.

Doc trotted back to where the sergeant was waiting and after a brief exchange, he began rummaging in his rucksack, pulling out some supplies and handing them to the NCO. Doc nodded, and the two men parted company.

When the medic rejoined Nelson and the prisoner, Billy asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. The Sarge just wanted a few supplies in case they ran into trouble."

Billy turned back to look, but his comrades had already disappeared from view. "Okay, well, let's get going."

Doc walked beside the Kraut, ready to steady him should he stumble, just as he had steadied so many of his wounded squad mates. Billy was behind them, constantly looking around and turning around to check their back trail. He thought he could hear the enemy all around them, so he would tell the medic and the prisoner to stop so he could listen more closely. But, when he did, all was quiet and he realized it was just his imagination.

The Kraut captain chuckled each time it happened. "I do not understand why your sergeant chose such an inexperienced soldier for such an important task."

"I'm NOT inexperienced." Billy, always sensitive to being labeled as a green recruit, sputtered in denial.

Müeller laughed. "Then why are you so nervous?"

"I'm NOT nervous. I'm just cautious. An' what makes you think you're so important?"

"Because, PRIVATE, I am an officer. Officers are always important. Do they not teach you anything in your army?"

The captain continued to needle Billy. Doc wanted to tell him not to engage the Kraut in conversation, but he was afraid that he would only give the German more ammunition to use against the young soldier. So, he focused on his job until he could speak to Nelson without Müeller hearing him.

They had been walking for about a half hour when Doc said he needed to check the bandage. Billy led them to some cover, and they stopped to take a break. When the medic finished with the captain, he walked over to where Billy was seated watching their back trail. Doc offered him his canteen. As Nelson drank, the medic quietly offered his advice. Billy listened carefully, as he always did when the other older (if only by a few years) members of the squad, except for Kirby, tried to help him. And, he took Doc's counsel to heart.

Once they got underway and the captain began to goad him, Billy told him to shut up.

The captain smiled. "Of course. If you do not wish…"

Billy cut him off. "I said 'Shut Up'!"

Doc couldn't help but smile; Nelson sounded a bit like the Sarge.

The three men continued on in silence. Everything was going well until…it wasn't. They were going down a slope with a lot of small, loose stones. Doc, as always, was trying to steady the wounded man when suddenly he fell, tumbling to the bottom. Billy hadn't seen what happened. Doc was usually pretty sure-footed, unlike his pal Littlejohn, but maybe he slipped. Or, maybe the Kraut pushed him. Billy decided he would ask the medic later.

At that moment, however, he had other concerns. He hustled the prisoner down the slope as fast as he could. When they arrived at the bottom, Doc was laying very still. Billy knelt by his side and, with his eyes still fastened on the captain, he gently shook the medic's shoulder.

"Doc, are you okay?" he asked. "Doc…Doc?"

After a moment, the medic groaned.

"Doc, are you okay?" Billy asked again.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," the officer said, taking a step toward the two men.

Billy immediately stood and pointed his rifle at the German. "You…you back up and sit down over there," the young private said, swinging his weapon to indicate a nearby tree.

"Of course," the Kraut replied. "But, you should check his pupils to be sure he does not have a concussion."

Nelson waited until the captain was seated a short distance away before again kneeling beside Doc. By this time, the medic's eyes were open and he spoke in a low voice.

"Billy, something's wrong. Ah can't move mah legs."

Billy looked at him, stunned. "Well…well, try again, Doc!"

The medic shook his head.

"Should I give you a shot of morphine? Are you bleeding anywhere?"

"No, Ah must've done something to mah back when Ah fell." Doc groaned again and closed his eyes.

Billy started to say, "Maybe if I pull you up, you could stand…" but stopped when the medic shook his head 'no.'

If Nelson had felt nervous before, when Saunders picked him to escort the prisoner back to their lines, now he was panicked. He looked over at the Kraut. The captain smiled at him, enjoying the fix the young soldier was in, knowing it would play to his advantage.

Billy pulled his canteen off his web belt and poured some water on his handkerchief. He placed the damp cloth on the medic's forehead and then took a swallow as he looked first at Doc and then at the Kraut.

"May I have a drink of water?" Cpt. Müeller politely asked.

Nelson walked over and handed him the canteen. The German took a long drink before handing it back.

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "And now, Private, what are you going to do?" he quietly asked.

The sergeant and the scout sat back and waited. They weren't close enough to hear what was being said, just near enough to be able to continue tailing the captain. This was the critical moment. Everything in the scheme Saunders had hastily concocted depended on what Billy would do now.

The sergeant had seen an envelope in the ditch, lying beneath some small stones and leaves where the German had hastily tried to hide it. It was unopened and, although he couldn't entirely make out who it was addressed to, he was sure it was an officer in a unit of the 6th Panzer Regiment. The NCO had surmised that Cpt. Müeller was on his way to deliver the letter when he was waylaid. Therefore, the captain must know where to find at least one unit of the Kraut regiment. So, Saunders had thought, it was just a matter of getting him to lead the squad to that unit.

While Kirby, Littlejohn and Phinney waited near the site of the ambush for the captain to return for the letter, Saunders and Caje had trailed the three men. It had been harder than they had expected. As quietly as they moved, Billy seemed to sense that someone was behind him. Fortunately, the Kraut had provided some needed distraction or they might have been discovered.

Doc had played his part to perfection, faking, Saunders hoped, his injury and now forcing Billy to decide what he was going to do. Since joining the squad, the sergeant had watched Nelson mature. But, he had also seen that the young soldier hadn't turned callus or bitter as some young men did on their way to becoming veteran warriors. Nelson was, in many ways, still the sweet, caring kid he had always been. That was what Saunders was banking on, that Billy would opt to save the medic and that even if he tied up the wounded man, he wouldn't do it too tightly and Müeller would be able to escape. Once free, the captain would lead the squad to some unit of the elusive Panzer regiment. They would be able to get the prisoner S-2 requested as well as, perhaps, even recapture the Kraut officer.

Billy back-pedaled until he was again at the medic's side. "Doc, can you move your legs now?" he desperately asked.

"No, Ah can't." When they had briefly talked while he had rummaged through his rucksack, Saunders' orders had been explicit. He mustn't direct Nelson. Let him come to his own conclusion so it was believable to the Kraut, the sergeant had said. Assuming it was the right one, Doc could even push back a bit, but not so much that Billy changed his mind.

"Okay, well, don't worry. I'll get you back," the young soldier said.

Nelson had no idea how he was going to do that. But, it was something the Sarge always said when someone was wounded, so he figured Doc needed to hear it, too. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. He sat down and tried to come up with a solution to his problem.

'I just told Doc I'd get him home because that's what the Sarge always says. Okay, well, what would Saunders do?' he asked himself. 'The mission always comes first with the Sarge…so what's the mission? Get this Kraut officer back to our lines.

'That doesn't help me…I'm right back where I started. That's my problem. How can I get the prisoner back with Doc hurt?' Billy took off his helmet and massaged his temples. All this thinking was giving him a headache. He remembered what Kirby had said, 'Ya think long, ya think wrong.' He shook his head to try to remove that advice from his mind as he returned to his problem.

'With his shoulder wound, the Kraut can't help carry a litter. Can I carry Doc and still keep an eye on the prisoner?...No. Even if I could carry Doc all that way, it would be too easy for the Kraut to get the drop on me and get his hands on my rifle.

'Okay, I'll have to leave Doc, get the prisoner back, and then return for him.' He looked over at the medic. 'It's the only sensible thing to do….It's what the Sarge would do…I've thought this through logically and it's the only thing to do…Ya think long, ya think wrong…' Billy again shook his head. 'I'll take the prisoner back…That's the right thing to do…Yes, that's what I'll do.'

Billy returned to the medic and knelt by his side. "Doc, I can't get both you and the prisoner back." Doc looked up at him with his kind, trusting eyes.

Nelson looked over at the Kraut, who gave him a knowing smile.

The captain was a soldier and this young man was a soldier. He would do what a soldier had to do and it would be one less American he had to deal with on the walk back to the enemy lines.

Billy looked down at his comrade. "Doc…" he hesitated. "Doc…I'll build a travois an' get you home."

"Billy, you…"

Nelson didn't wait for the medic to finish. He walked over to the prisoner and pointed his rifle at him. After all, Saunders had told him to shoot the Kraut if he gave him any trouble.

"Wait. What are you doing? You can't shoot me! I am a prisoner of war. The Geneva Convention…"

"You Krauts always bring up the Geneva Convention when it suits your purpose…"


End file.
